His annual donations -- coupled with not taking the reimbursements -- more than washes out his annual salary, McConnellogue said.

Benson said that he has a good, hard-working staff and he wants the money he would have earned to be returned to the salary pool to reward other university employees.

The CU regents last spring decided to use a portion of tuition revenue to help fund the merit-based salary pool and reward employees with raises of up to 3 percent. Last year's tuition increases netted the CU system about $36 million in extra revenue, with about $11.4 million going into the compensation pool.

Salaries had been frozen for a few years, and regents who supported the compensation pool at the time said performance-based raises were important to retain top-notch employees.

CU announced late last month that it will reward employees with one-time 3 percent raises if, in their performance reviews, they were deemed to have met or exceeded expectations.

CU Regent Kyle Hybl, R-Colorado Springs, said that the board appreciates Benson's efforts and that his leadership is far more worthy than a 3 percent raise.

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